A/N: Peeps who follow me on tumblr probably recognize this fic. It's (*drumroll please*) Blind!Cloud. Sorry for the spoiler newcomers, but this is an idea I've been playing around with for ages and now I've decided to give it an actual plot.

There was only one figure out on the floor, tinkering away silently in the empty workroom. He worked calmly and sedately, not really caring if he finished or not, but still lost in his own world.

"Somebody turned the lights off on you again," someone said behind him.

"I didn't notice," he replied, "What time is it?"

"Almost three, Reeve is waiting for you Cloud."

"You sent that stupid cat thing to get me," Cloud replied, "I don't know why you just come down here and tell me. Its a lot less work."

"I am not stupid,"Cait Sith said.

"I know you're not," Cloud said, "I was talking to Reeve not you." Cloud placed his tools away in their precise places, to ensure the wouldn't disappear when he needed them again.

"You called me a stupid cat thing," Cait Sith said.

"I'm sorry," Cloud said, "I was almost done fixing the panel, you know how I get." Cloud felt around until his hand brushed against a metallic pole. He picked it up, dropping the folded pieces until they snapped into a long cane.

"I was the one to fix you last time," Cloud said, "so how about we forgive and forget for now?"

"You're lucky I like you blondie," Cait Sith replied and jumped onto Cloud's shoulder. Cloud smirked as he navigated his way out of the work room, his cane tapping in front of him. These wheely chairs were so light he sometimes just couldn't sense them until he ran into them.

"Where is he?" Cloud asked.

"Waiting for you outside of the meeting room," Cait replied, "Level 62." Cloud nodded. He could hear the elevator whirring and fumbled a little in hitting the proper button.

"Would you mind hitting the right floor for me, Cait?" Cloud asked. The weight on his shoulder hopped off and Cloud could hear him pushing buttons.

The floor surged a little beneath him. Cloud leaned against the wall as Cait Sith hopped back on. The robotic female voice informed him he had reached Level 62.

"Finally," Reeve said, "did you not set your timer?"

"I forgot," Cloud said apologetically, "I got caught up in those panels again."

"They work fine," Reeve said, "they're powering the last twenty floors."

"But they could be better," Cloud argued, "You let me test out my solar panels. It's only fair that I make them perfect." Nevermind it was those solar panels that started this entire problem in the first place.

"There's Turks at the security checkpoint," Reeve said. Cloud nodded. The new president was a bit cautious. For now at least.

"Hello Cloud," a young female stated.

"Hello Cissnei," Cloud replied, "Let me guess, you need to take my cane."

"Sorry," Cissnei said. Cloud pulled it apart and folded it. He held it out, waiting for hands to take it.

"I can guide you," Cissnei offered. Cloud took her arm and let her walk him down.

These metallic walls gave strange echoes. They ruined Cloud's depth perception, but also gave him a bigger idea of what was going on. It all evened out when Cloud entered a room that had drywall in place.

Long table, lots of chairs, 8-10 people.

"There's a chair for you to your left," Cissnei said. Cloud found it and sat himself in it, feeling Reeve do the same next to him.

Time to get it over with.

Angeal Hewley watched a blonde man with sunglasses take a seat across from him. The turk stood behind him and Reeve Tuesti sat next to him.

It all struck him as rather protective.

"Alright I agreed to this meeting," Rufus ShinRa said, "who is this?" The blonde tipped his head instead of turning it.

"Mr. President this is Cloud Strife, one of my best developers," Reeve said.

"What's with the sunglasses?" Rufus asked.

"Pleased to meet you as well," Cloud said. Angeal caught the elbow Reeve dug into Cloud's side. Cloud took them off.

"People find it strange when that I just stare off into space," Cloud said. Angeal agreed. Those eyes looked like the saw right through him. Or didn't even see him at all.

"Cloud suffers from a severe visual impairment," Reeve explained quickly, "he's blind."

"And he's one of your best developers," Rufus said skeptically.

"Cloud designed and prototyped the solar panels that are currently powering almost half of his building," Reeve said, "He's made more efficient batteries, engines, and has done excessive work on our mako reactor project."

"I helped to set up the remote shut down for reactor 8," Cloud said, "you may ask Cissnei. She accompanied me when we tested it." Rufus glanced at the redheaded turn who gave a small nod.

"I see," Rufus said, "and why did you request a SOLDIER guard for your best developer who is also blind?"

"Because Cloud is the only person who has been able to successfully run through the shut down process on a reactor without it going critical," Reeve said, "He is…pardon the phrasing, he sees something that no one else, not even myself can. You said you wanted us to start the transition in Corel, before the people there revolted entirely. If anything happens to Cloud then this entire venture is pointless."

"What do you mean he's the only one?" Rufus said.

"Those reactors weren't built with the intention of ever being phased out," Cloud said, "The only real way of shutting them down is blowing them up. I figured out a workaround, but no one else has been able to copy me. We've tried several times. You may ask Scarlet and her division. I've reached out to them too."

"With all do respect sir," Angeal said, "Director Tuesti has made a very reasonable request. We can send a SOLDIER, one should be enough if it's a first class, with Mr. Strife." Rufus paused.

"I agree," he said, "I'll leave it at your discretion."

Reeve bowed his head in relief, his arm going around Cloud. Cloud murmured something Angeal couldn't hear, but it got a laugh from the Director.

Angeal already had a recently promoted first in mind. One that was itching to get his first taste of a real first class mission.

Cloud felt anxiety building as Cissnei guided him out of the meeting room and handed him back his cane. Reeve kept on spouting how relieved he was that Cloud wasn't going alone. Cloud just kept on a neutral expression, not really wanting to think about this right now.

"If I don't see you before you leave, good luck," Cissnei said softly.

"Thanks," Cloud replied. The Turk had been fairly compliant on their test run, mostly there to make sure he wasn't trying to sabotage the project before it started. She had been nice enough, but that was her job, to act nice. She knew everything about Cloud before even saying hello to him.

A SOLDIER would be a wild card, and they would be in a city that was already rumbling with discontent. It wasn't what Cloud would call ideal.

He already missed his workspace in the engineering department and wanted to fiddle with the solar panel again.

"I want to run through some more practice runs," Reeve said, "Corel has an older model than Midgar. It can't hurt." Cloud rolled his eyes, but knew Reeve was trying to ensure the outcome of the mission.

"Reeve...I practiced on older model schematics for the Midgar test run," Cloud said, "Reactor 8 is way harder than what I'll have to do in Corel."

"It won't hurt," Reeve pointed out.

Cloud sighed. He knew there was a reason the other engineers sometimes called Cloud Reeve's second pet cat.

"For real?" Zack said straightening up mid-squat.

"Yes," Angeal said.

"I have a mission?" Zack said hope gleaming on his face.

"Yes," Angeal repeated.

"By myself?" Zack said.

"Ye-no," Angeal corrected himself, "It's a guarding mission."

"So...escorting," Zack said deflating a little.

"In dangerous territory," Angeal finished. That perked up Zack a little bit more.

"Monster zone?" he asked.

"Corel," Angeal corrected, "Would you please sit down so we can give you a proper briefing." Lazard was hiding a smile behind his hand. Zack was a green first. He'd been a great second and earned his latest promotion...but his hyperactive personality hadn't changed at all.

Zack plopped in the seat, looking ready to leap back up at the first opportunity.

"The reactor in Corel has been producing poorly for quite some time," Lazard began explaining, "Attempts at renovation have made the problem worse and we believe that it is very likely to have a meltdown. In addition, the locals have a very high anti-ShinRa viewpoint and were outright hostile to the last ShinRa employees to be in the area.

"We have an engineer who is able and willing to shut the reactor down entirely. Your job is to make sure he is kept safe as he does so."

"That's it?" Zack asked. It sounded easy.

"This mission requires a lot more ability in dealing with the locals than pure muscle," Angeal said, "Including showing that you can work well with other departments. However, in the worst case scenario you will be in charge of the evacuation of the entire town." Zack nodded.

"I understand," he said.

"Good," Lazard said, "you and the engineer will be shipped out tomorrow at 0700 hours." Zack jumped up with a nod and started walking out. Angeal came up behind him.

"There's a few...other details you should probably know about," he began.

The next morning found Cloud methodically packing his extra sets of rolled up shirts and pants into his duffle. It helped clear his mind and set goals for what he was about to do. He'd spent the last two days feeling over schematics and running through a dry run of a reactor shut down. He'd felt confident then, even making himself do speed runs and deciding on a record of 5 minutes, 27 seconds. He zipped up his bag slowly.

It wouldn't be so bad. Maybe the SOLDIER would be quiet and not have anything to do with him. Maybe he'd just talk shit with the locals the whole time.

Maybe he'd be an asshole and try dragging Cloud here and there without saying a goddamn word and get him killed.

"Overreacting Strife," Cloud told himself, "in and out. Fix the reactor and you can come back home." He gave himself a nod, hoping that it would be that easy.

He picked up his toolbox, a black square made of a sturdy plastic. He fumbled at the catch for just a moment before opening the top. He felt inside, each tool precisely where he left it. It had been given to him when he joined the engineering department. Everyone had one, but only Cloud's didn't have the ShinRa diamond insignia on it. His was left blank except for a white scrawl that read Strife near the handle.

No one else could do this. Cloud knew that fact all to well. Despite how hard he tried to train someone else, anyone else, even Reeve and Scarlet, they couldn't follow him. It gave him a sense of pride and a sense of dread.

"Get used to it Cloud," he told himself, "it's time to save the world." A knock at his door told him his time really was up.

Zack stood near the truck that would take both him and this "blind engineer" to Junon, where they would catch a boat to the Western continent and then have another truck ride to Corel. A lot of hurry up and wait in Zack's opinion. Hopefully the company was pleasant.

He watched two figures disembark the train from the plate. He kind of recognized Director Tuesti. He usually didn't leave his department unless ordered to. He couldn't stop himself from gawking at the man next to the director.

Blonde spikes poked out of his head almost with a purpose. It looked...almost cool, like he was trying to hard. The sunglasses on his face didn't help the cause at all. His clothes thankfully, were very casual, a pair of worn out jeans with a plainclothes jacket.

"Are you sure you've got everything?" the director was saying.

"I'm positive Reeve," the blonde said. Reeve was now looking at Zack.

"I'm guessing you're Zack Fair," he said.

"Yes," Zack said brightening immediately. He stuck out a hand. Tuesti took it and gave it a good shake. Zack held it out to the blonde without thinking.

"Oh...yeah...they mentioned-"

"Cloud," Reeve said with an unsaid warning in his tone. Cloud (okay, fairly high on the list of weird names) gave a sigh and actually managed to take hold of Zack's hand without fumbling in the least. Cloud gave Zack's hand a soft squeeze and let go. Reeve sighed.

"Cloud knows more about this whole mission than I do," Reeve said, "I'm just here to wish you both luck. And to remind Cloud to play nice."

"Yes mom," Cloud said drily. Zack didn't know what to make of these two at all. This engineer looked like...kind of a jerk. Zack almost wished Reeve would ride with them for a couple of miles.

"Thank you sir," Zack said, straightening a back he hadn't realized was beginning to slouch. He waved to their driver who started up the vehicle. The blonde was feeling out the back where they would be sitting.

"Do you want help-" Zack began.

"I can do it myself, thank you," Cloud said, a little too crisply for Zack's tastes. Zack backed off. Cloud found a foothold and climbed inside the truck with uncanny grace, finding a seat close to the opening. Zack followed him, picking a seat a little further away. It didn't look like Cloud was bursting at the seams to have company. Zack gave it one last shot.

"So...you do this often?" Zack asked.

"No," Cloud replied, in a rather terse tone. The truck started moving. Zack stared at his ward, mouth open a little bit. He felt the urge to tell this asshat off, but that felt kind of...Angeal-ish. Instead he crossed his arms and stared at the opposite side of the truck, stealing glances at the blonde from the corner of his eyes.

As the smog of Midgar cleared and the sky turned bright. Zack saw the blond's hands gripping his duffle strap hard, as if it were a lifeline. He was swallowing often, as if he had a lump in his throat. His face was turned towards the soft breeze that came from the truck opening, but Zack could guess that there was a deep frown on his face.

Zack sighed and uncrossed his arms, re-evaluating his partner. Maybe he was just a bit nervous. He said he didn't do this often...and Lazard mentioned there was a chance of a full reactor meltdown. He wasn't sure, but it looked like the blonde was also starting to turn a little green.

Zack decided to give the kid a chance. He hoped it would be worth it in the long run.